103: Chapter 103 I'll stand still and let you hit me.

The light screen clearly displayed: Rukawa Jinfu, Rank: Platinum Three.

As for his own rank insignia above his head, it was already shining Platinum Two.

A flash of light passed, and Li Wen's figure appeared on one side of the familiar arena.

Opposite him, Rukawa Jinfu's figure solidified almost simultaneously.

When he clearly saw the 'Platinum Two' insignia above Li Wen's head, which was a full rank higher than his own, the corner of his eye twitched violently uncontrollably, and his teeth instantly clenched.

The icy sensation of the pale blade light piercing his forehead during their last duel, along with the astonished and dead silent expressions of countless Sakura Country spectators, resurfaced like a recurring nightmare.

His previously proud Platinum Three rank appeared exceptionally dim under the brilliance of the opponent's Platinum Two.

Rukawa Jinfu's face was ashen, but facing the live broadcast perspective and the large crowd below the arena,

His intense self-esteem forced him to suppress the surging humiliation and a faint trace of fear. He raised his head again, adopting that signature arrogant posture: "Last time you got lucky with a sneak attack during your Breakthrough; you won't have such luck today."

The Sakura Country audience below the stage erupted into earth-shattering cheers after a brief moment of stunned silence: "Lord Jinfu, victory is yours!"

"Last time was an accident! When Lord Jinfu gets serious, he is no match for him!"

"Rank doesn't mean everything; Lord Jinfu's Swift Wind Swordsmanship is unrivaled under heaven!"

Seeing the opponent's fierce pretense and the noisy supporters below the stage, Li Wen just smiled calmly. His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly pierced through the clamor: "Rukawa Jinfu? You seem very scared. Don't worry,"

He paused, inverted the virtual long saber in his hand, and adopted a purely defensive starting stance, looking directly at his opponent with calm eyes: "This time, I won't Move. I will just stand here and let you hit me. Attack with all your might and see if your true strength can shake my defense."

This statement was like pouring cold water into boiling oil.

"Utterly arrogant!"

"Kill him! Lord Jinfu! Make him pay for his arrogance!"

Rukawa Jinfu's face instantly flushed purple. Shame and anger completely crushed his last shred of rationality, leaving no thought of strategic retreat.

Only one thought remained: to shred the opponent's detestable calmness. He roared, almost breaking his voice: "Bastard! Die!!"

Boom!

The moment the countdown ended, Rukawa Jinfu transformed into an afterimage wreathed in sharp azure swift wind. He pushed his speed to the absolute limit, even faster than their previous encounter.

The long sword tore through the air, bringing with it a mournful whistling wind. Overwhelming azure Sword Qi swept towards Li Wen like a torrential storm!

Facing this Swift Wind offensive capable of ripping steel apart, Li Wen truly remained rooted to the spot, as he had said. Only the hand holding his saber moved!

Clang! Clang! Clank! Clank! Clank, clank, clank, clank—!

The dense metallic collision sounds, almost merging into one continuous noise, exploded on the arena like a sudden downpour.

The saber in Li Wen's hand seemed to transform into flowing water with a life of its own, tough vines, or a heavy mountain wall.

He didn't use any offensive Blade Technique Moves, merely pushing the defensive essence of the Shou Que Style to its extreme.

His wrist turned, the saber light flashing rapidly—sometimes precisely blocking the weakest point of the sword edge's force generation, sometimes skillfully diverting fatal sword rays, or rotating the saber body to deploy layers upon layers of defensive halos.

Saber light extending several feet and the azure Sword Qi continuously collided, shattered, and scattered wildly, fiercely bombarding the arena floor and the surrounding energy shield.

Dull roars erupted, stirring up rings of ripples. The entire arena continuously shook under the rampage of the residual energy.

No matter how Rukawa Jinfu changed his Moves or accelerated, no matter how much Sword Qi he erupted, Li Wen remained as steady as a rock.

That seemingly simple saber, in his hands, transformed into an absolute barrier, unmoved by the fierce storm.

He even began to try integrating a trace of the force-releasing flow technique he had just comprehended during the gaps in his absolute defense. His movements went from slightly stiff to increasingly smooth and fluid.

The Concept of the Shou Que Style was continuously clarified and deepened through actual combat.

"Defense—is not about taking the blow head-on—it is about flow—it is about guidance—it is about stability within dynamics—it is about making the opponent's strength become the aid for one's own defense—"

Li Wen's eyes grew brighter and brighter, his mind completely immersed in the Profound Truth of the Shou Que Style.

Every attack from the opponent was like a heavy hammer forging his path of defense.

Rukawa Jinfu's heart, however, grew heavier and heavier.

Ten breaths! Twenty breaths! He had already exhausted all his strength, even using his trump card minor techniques, yet he couldn't even make the opponent Move a single step.

Not only was the opponent's rank higher, but even this damned defensive Blade Technique had become so terrifying? In the live broadcast channel, the initial fervent support gradually gave way to voices of doubt.

[Shou Que Style comprehension deepened—Mastery +0.1%—]

[Mastery +0.1%—]

The numbers on the virtual panel jumped silently. Although not as fast as during Cultivation, under the extreme pressure of actual combat, every tiny increase was invaluable.

Unable to break through after a prolonged attack, the fear and anxiety in Rukawa Jinfu's heart completely submerged him.

Especially seeing Li Wen's focused gaze, which seemed to hold a hint of enlightenment, a sliver of despair and the urge to retreat rose uncontrollably.

His sword momentum showed a minuscule, instinctive hesitation, which was extremely dangerous when he was attacking at full speed.

"Hmm?" Li Wen, whose perception was extremely sharp, noticed immediately.

Just as Rukawa Jinfu's thoughts wavered and his movements paused slightly, Li Wen's calm voice sounded again, carrying a perfectly measured concern that sounded genuine: "Rukawa-kun?"

"What, are you tired from fighting?"

"Or—did you really not eat lunch? Your strength is as small as a child who hasn't been weaned yet?"

This standard Sakura language concern, coupled with his slightly mocking expression, felt like the hottest branding iron searing the hearts of Rukawa Jinfu and all the Sakura Country spectators.

"Baka Yarou!!!"

"Kill him!!!!"

The live broadcast barrage instantly exploded into a screen of blood red.

Extreme shame and anger completely consumed Rukawa Jinfu, and his last shred of reason vanished.

"I want you dead! Profound Truth · Swift Wind Raging Wave Slash!!!"

Boom—!

Rukawa Jinfu's eyes turned crimson. The azure energy around his body burned madly, instantly overdrawing all his strength, even exceeding his limits.

The long sword in his hand erupted with unprecedented blinding light, converging into a massive wind blade that seemed capable of tearing the Void Realm apart. Carrying a world-destroying Aura, he recklessly slashed towards Li Wen's head.

This was a self-sacrificing strike, its power far exceeding his usual level.

Facing this insane eruption of a killing blow, a sharp glint surged in Li Wen's eyes.

"Good! Just in time!"

"Absolute Focus"! Activate!

The terrifying comprehension amplification of Lv8 instantly enveloped his entire body.

The jade-like Primordial Spirit Power surged out from his Sea of Consciousness and merged with his perception.

Under Li Wen's super perception, the massive wind blade's energy flow, core nodes, and weak points were revealed in minute detail!

"Shou Que Style · Returning Origin!"

The long saber in his hand drew a simple arc that seemed to contain the ultimate principles of heaven and earth without the slightest hesitation.

The saber light flowed, not meeting the attack head-on, but precisely cutting into a minute, constantly shifting node within the wind blade's violent energy.

Like Butcher Ding carving an ox, he gently pulled and guided along the grain swiftly and smoothly.

Buzz—!

That world-destroying massive wind blade, like a punctured balloon, instantly lost control as its violent energy dissipated, emitting a dull sound of collapse.

The core node that held it together had already been gently pierced by Li Wen's single saber strike.

The light faded. Rukawa Jinfu remained frozen in the posture of a forward slash before Li Wen, his eyes still holding extreme madness and a trace of astonishment.

His long sword was only three inches away from Li Wen's forehead.

A bead of sweat slid down Li Wen's temple, but the corner of his mouth curved into a faint, slight smile.

"It seems you won't have this chance."

Before his words fell.

Snap! A slight crisp sound.

The standard issue long saber in Li Wen's hand, after enduring such high-intensity defensive combat, especially the terrifying pressure of guiding and disintegrating that Peak Profound Truth strike, finally exceeded its limit, and a tiny crack appeared from the tip of the blade.

Although the blade body was broken, Rukawa Jinfu's body suddenly stiffened. An extremely thin, faint, yet incomparably fatal pale white saber mark silently appeared on his brow.

That saber mark was precisely the result of Li Wen, in the instant he disintegrated the wind blade, guiding a portion of its residual energy, integrating a trace of his own Intent, and counter-striking along the core flaw exposed by the opponent's power eruption—a killing blow.

This was the ultimate application of defensive counterattack, also another manifestation of the Dao of 'Shou Que'—using the opponent's spear to forge one's own strength.

Puchi!

A flash of light passed. Rukawa Jinfu's virtual figure, along with the look of shock, despair, and profound disbelief frozen on his face, instantly disintegrated into countless points of light and vanished from the arena.

[Duel Victory!]

[Points +5!]

The System prompt sounded. Below the arena, there was dead silence.

The Sakura Country spectators seemed to have their throats squeezed by an invisible hand.

The dense barrage in the live broadcast room appeared to have been instantly cleared.

All the noise, curses, support, and mockery abruptly ceased the moment Rukawa Jinfu was instantly slain by the light blooming from his brow and dissipated into light spots, plunging into an ice-cold silence.

The cheers and shouts that had been boiling with excitement just a moment ago were forcibly choked back. Countless people's mouths were open, but they couldn't utter a sound; only the sound of suffocating 'huhu' as air passed through their throats.

Unbelievable! They couldn't comprehend it.

In the previous duel, although Rukawa Jinfu was defeated, they mostly believed it was because he had been careless.

But this time—the opponent hadn't even taken a single offensive step from start to finish.

He merely used that damned defensive Blade Technique to withstand all of Rukawa Jinfu's frantic counterattacks, and in the end—he shattered his brow as if casually, using a damaged weapon, while neutralizing his strongest attack?

"I will stand still and let you hit me—"

This sentence coiled around the heart of every Sakura spectator like a cold venomous snake.

That was not arrogance; it was a cold, hard fact!

It was a humiliation and crushing defeat more suffocating and bone-deep than winning by being weaker last time.

Lord Jinfu exhausted everything, even erupting with power far beyond his limits, yet he couldn't even break through the opponent's defense, ultimately being casually slain by the opponent's counterattack in a moment of desperation?

What kind of battle was this? This was clearly their so-called Sakura Country Genius performing a desperate one-man show in front of the opponent.

A massive sense of shame swept over them like a tsunami, drowning all their pride and confidence.

In the live broadcast feed, countless avatars that had been brimming with fervor instantly turned gray and went offline, as if eager to escape this unbearable nightmare.

The virtual figures still remaining at the scene stood frozen like statues, their faces pale as paper, their eyes staring blankly at the empty arena, as if their Souls had been sucked out.

Last time there was anger and unwillingness to accept defeat; this time, there was only boundless humiliation and bone-chilling despair.

Li Wen looked at the 'Sakura Country Audience Zone' below the stage, which was deathly silent and utterly demoralized, his gaze indifferent, without the slightest ripple.

The broken long saber in his hand vanished into light points.

The objective had been achieved. This battle's progress for the [Shou Que Style] under high combat pressure was even better than he had anticipated.

The comprehension gained from the final 'Returning Origin' counter-strike was an invaluable treasure.

He didn't glance at the crowd below again. His figure also transformed into a beam of light and disappeared into this virtual starry battlefield, leaving behind a chilling silence.

In the next few ranking matches, Li Wen repeated his method.

He precisely filtered his targets.

When facing opponents whose words were arrogant and who looked down on everything, he would either calmly point out the impracticality of their Moves or offer light, casual critiques, successfully enraging one arrogant Genius after another.

This ignited Battle Intent precisely became the perfect kindling for Li Wen to temper the [Shou Que Style].

The stormy attacks fell onto the defensive field Li Wen constructed.

Attacks of various attributes poured down crazily, and every collision carried the opponent's shame, anger, and ruthlessness.

Li Wen's mind remained still as water. [Absolute Focus Iv8] and [Primordial Spirit Power] were precisely coupled, flowing upstream against the violent torrent of the virtual space.

He no longer merely blocked passively, but began attempting to integrate more refined flow, force redirection, and even the nascent forms of borrowing strength to strike back within the framework of the Shou Que Style.

The fiercer the opponent's offensive, the more precious the pressure testing data provided.

The tremor from every saber light collision, the angle at which every energy flow was redirected, all transformed into deeper understanding data streams for the "Shou Que Style," pouring into his Sea of Consciousness.

His spirit was as if placed on a whetstone and rubbed repeatedly. The intense consumption brought waves of dizziness.

Finally, after successfully provoking and utilizing another platinum rank Genius, Li Wen's Sea of Consciousness sent a strong depletion warning.

[Warning: Mental Energy approaching threshold————]

"Hoo————"

The virtual world faded, and the cold metal walls of the independent martial arts room reappeared in his sight.

Li Wen let out a long breath, fine beads of sweat seeping from his temples.

Outside the window, night had already fallen, dotted with stars that reflected the city lights.

The time showed nine o'clock in the evening.

He leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and regulated his breathing.

The residual medicinal power of the [starlight condensing spirit fluid] inside his body was still stubbornly emitting a cool, gentle Aura, like the last trickles of water on a dried-up riverbed, nourishing the core of his exhausted Mental Energy bit by bit.

After more than ten minutes, the intense feeling of depletion slightly eased, and his Mental Energy was forcibly pulled back to a relatively safe low point.

Only then did Li Wen slowly get up.

"Time for my daily practice," he murmured, walking to the center of the martial arts room.

With a slight movement of his mind, the profound jade-like Primordial Spirit slowly manifested behind his head, emitting a gentle radiance.

As the Primordial Spirit Power diffused and permeated his limbs and bones, the process of Cultivating the Splitting Edge Golden Fiend Method, which had once caused him unbearable pain, now felt like stretching his muscles in warm water.

Muscles tore and regenerated under high pressure; bones were repeatedly tempered by the Golden Fiend Qi; Qi and blood surged like magma————

The previous excruciating pain was overwritten by the powerful perception of the Primordial Spirit and its transcendent isolation from pain.

After the Cultivation ended, Li Wen felt a deep fatigue as if his entire body had been hollowed out, like having just carried a mountain Peak up ten thousand feet, but his spirit maintained a strange clarity, completely free from any past psychological shadows.

Time passed silently, and it was nearly eleven o'clock.

After a brief wash to rinse away the fatigue and the Aura of Cultivation, Li Wen changed his clothes and took the dedicated elevator, which symbolized his status, smoothly descending to the underground garage.

The specialized car's stream of light cut a trajectory through the night, merging into the city's dazzling lights, taking him back to the home where he no longer needed to worry about making a living.

A quiet night.

April 21st, dawn just breaking.

His biological clock precisely awakened his consciousness.